With a firm shake, I sealed our fates. A human and a fae, not like I wasn’t familiar with that pairing before. Although this time was different. I had to stay on my toes with Rufian. Unlike his sister, he’d given me plenty of proof to heed his every word.
I believed in second chances, but this guy was going to have to earn it.
“Ah, I am glad that we finally reached an understanding!” He beamed.
“Right. So tell me, how am I the missing piece? You pretty much said that you can’t do this without me, right?”
“Right!”
“Well then, I’m waiting.”
He chuckled nervously. “Well, I cannot do this without you because you, Sir Silas are one of a kind!”
“Go on…”
“You’re the hero of Senterra, the image of freedom and justice!”
“Yeah, and?” I prodded.
“Annnnd I need the power of the dungeon core to wield magic that would nullify the magic of the fae.”
“Annnnd now you’ve lost me. Deal’s off. Good night.”
“No, wait, allow me to explain!” he begged, chasing after me. Rufian grabbed my shoulder and stepped in front of my path, intercepting me with an urgent and serious look on his face. “You have no idea the kind of power you are currently harboring in your itty bitty security box! It is nothing you can even BEGIN to fathom! Her mere shell is a powerhouse of pure energy. If you know how to utilize it, you can bring nations to their feet!” His mouth was running a mile a minute, like he was short on time in trying to convince me of this crazy plan of his.
Using Alzera-Kar’s shard shield to fight the fae?
I was desperate, but not that desperate.
“Look at me, Silas,” he said, his eyes sharpening on me as he pulled his black glove off. My gaze zeroed in on his icy blue fingertips, the texture of his skin appearing to be made of ice. “Jezz wields the power of ice as well. If you doubt my intentions, the very least you could do is acknowledge my alliance with mankind. Jezz and I want the same thing, she just went about it a different way. Now I know there are plenty of fae out there with ice as their elemental gift, but I know for a fact you’ve seen this symbol on my sister.” He rolled up his sleeve, and the crest on his wrist made my eyes blow up. “She has this, too. We all do. It belongs to our family.”
I’d seen it before… when Jezz had joined me in that embarrassing morning swim…
It was on her lower back, with the same dark red ink like Rufian’s.
“I need you to understand something. You have seen nothing yet. Your eyes aren’t trained to see the trickery of fae. They are unseasoned in the sheer arrogance of their hearts, and the power of their spell work. You have to believe me when I say that what you’ve seen so far pales nothing in comparison to what’s out there! You cross paths with the wrong people, and you would bring death to your doorstep. Believe what you wish in mere faith in those gears, but if you truly want to save this nation, if you truly want to end this war, you absolutely must have me by your side.” He went one step further and insisted, “And you must use the power of the dungeon core.”
I pulled my eyes to his crest again, this itch of doubt making me wary.
What was I getting myself into? Was I seriously considering this?
“This war is bigger than you, hero. As much willpower as someone like you has, you cannot defeat the fae and the dragons alone. You need an edge, one that no one would see coming! Trust me, Silas. I have seen the horrors that my people can bring upon this land. I have fought them, and barely made it out alive. Your experiences thus far have been child’s play. I promise you that. And I do not blame you for not comprehending the concept. These humans are desperate, they are in need of a savior. In this, they are short-changing you, pumping through your veins this unrealistic philosophy of mind over magic. The dungeon core is your only chance of survival. It’s our only chance of survival.”
I looked at him for a moment, my heart racing. Weighing my options, I evaluated the depth of my predicament. He was right. I didn’t know much of anything. I’d only heard stories, I’d only tuned into accounts. While I was the goddess’ chosen warrior, I hadn’t been through it like he had. Like they had. As I stood here I couldn’t fully grasp Senterrian’s suffering, and if I wanted to do right by them, I couldn’t refuse Rufian’s offer.
My breath escaped me as I made a difficult choice—I chose to side with Jezz’s brother and use Alzera-Kar as he saw fit.
I just hope he knew what the hell he was doing…
“Okay,” I said with a nod, “So, what’s the plan?”
CHAPTER SIX
Same Day, Dragon Palace, Dradersi
[SE-T2 Zone: Six hour advance from Senterra]
Lucyna
My father summoned me after sunfall… that was never a good sign.
I prepared myself for a scolding, my lack of results in finding the Senterrian hero probably angering him. I must admit, my efforts had been lackluster, and I had no one to blame but myself. I’d been focusing on finding the shard shield of the dungeon core instead of putting my efforts into digging out her favorite warrior. All at the expense of losing my private army…
I gritted my teeth at the thought of him controlling my every move.
If I’d killed the king by now, I wouldn’t have to endure all of this grief.
But, appearances… peace… order. Those three concepts were very important to my people, and the last thing I wanted to do was sabotage this kingdom and become the lesser race. The dragons would lose their foundation. Our kingdom would crumble in the heart of war, and we’d be left with nothing but ashes and memories.
I didn’t want that fate for Dradersi. We had come so far, our victory in this war so close I could already feel the heat of our enemies burning in our flames.
It didn’t matter what he was ready to say to me, I already had an answer in store for him. I was at my best when faced with adversity, and nothing spelled adversity like the wrath of my father.
But as I walked down the long corridor heading toward the meeting hall, I noticed Lady Saphyra on the other end. The unexpected guest wore a loud white dress that illuminated the hall like a runway, her skirt sashaying back and forth to the beat of her clacking heels and her swaying hips. Her big blonde curls were pinned back, but they still framed the silhouette of her face and those distinguishable sharpened horns along her jawline. I couldn’t look away, her blue piercing glare locked on me tight. The young ruler of western Dradersi was as prideful as a lion, and as fierce as one, too. Out of respect for myself I didn’t look away from her intimidating smile, meeting her halfway down the corridor as she stopped before me with her long cigarette between her slender gloved fingers.
“Evening, princess,” she greeted me in a buttery yet condescending tone.
“Lady Saphyra,” I replied curtly. By now I didn’t expect her to bow down and show my title any respect. Not that I cared any.
